Rami Makhlouf Rejects Syria Regime Demand to Step Down From Mobile Operator
Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf said on Sunday that authorities
had set a deadline for him to resign from top mobile operator Syriatel or they
would revoke its license but that he would not step down.
In a video, the third he has issued bringing into the open a
rift with his cousin Syrian President Bashar al Assad, Makhlouf said the
collapse of Syriatel, a main revenue earner for the government, would deal a
"catastrophic" blow to the economy.
Makhlouf was part of the president´s inner circle and has
played a big role in financing Assad's war effort, Western officials have said,
citing his business empire which includes telecoms, real estate, construction,
and oil trading.
"If you don't comply ... the license will be revoked
and they said you have until Sunday to either comply or the company will be
taken and its assets seized," Makhlouf said.
It was not clear when the video was taken and if he meant
this Sunday or next.
"You are, by this, destroying the economy of
Syria," Makhlouf added.
This month he accused security forces of arresting his
employees in an "inhumane way" in an unprecedented attack from within
the system by one of the country's most influential figures.
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